Trunk-sharing system, information processing device for trunk-sharing, information processing method for trunk-sharing, and recording medium having program stored therein

ABSTRACT

A trunk-sharing system that controls an user&#39;s authority to use a predetermined area of a vehicle by issuing a predetermined authentication information to a user terminal, the trunk-sharing system including a server configured to: acquire a first information on a permission of using the predetermined area of the vehicle from a first user who owns the vehicle; provide the first information such that the first information acquired from the first user of each of a plurality of vehicles is able to be detected by a second user other than the first user; acquire a second information on a request for a use of the predetermined area which is an information from the second user who has accessed the provided first information; and issue an authentication information for locking and unlocking the predetermined area to a terminal of the second user based on the first information and the second information.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/177,832, filed Nov. 1, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,755,502, which isbased upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2017-255028 filed on Dec. 28, 2017 the entire contentsof each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a trunk-sharing system, an informationprocessing device for trunk-sharing, an information processing methodfor trunk-sharing, and a non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium having a program stored therein.

2. Description of Related Art

A technique for allowing a receiver to register a baggage-receivingvehicle at which the receiver will receive a delivery object andenabling the receiver to receive the delivery object even when thereceiver is absent by accommodating the delivery object in a trunk ofthe registered baggage-receiving vehicle has been proposed (for example,see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-206225(JP 2006-206225 A)).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-211030 (JP2014-211030 A) discloses a technique of unlocking a safe based on aresult of authentication of biometric information of an unlockingperson.

SUMMARY

It is conceivable that a cargo compartment of a vehicle be used forpickup and delivery of a delivery object and is also used as a locker inwhich baggage or the like is temporarily stored. However, in thetechnique based on the related art in which a cargo compartment of avehicle is used for pickup and delivery of a delivery object, usepermission information for a cargo compartment of a vehicle indicatingwhether a third party is permitted to use the cargo compartment of thevehicle is information from an owner of the vehicle which is known toonly a deliverer (a delivery company) and thus a third party cannotacquire use permission information of the cargo compartment of thevehicle. Therefore, there is demand for allowing a third party to easilyascertain a vehicle of which a cargo compartment or the like ispermitted to be used and realizing sharing of a cargo compartment of avehicle or the like (in other words, trunk-sharing) without impairingconvenience for a user.

The disclosure provides a technique capable of improving convenience fora user when a cargo compartment of a vehicle or the like is shared.

An aspect of the disclosure relates to a trunk-sharing system thatcontrols an authority of a user, which is an authority for using apredetermined area of a vehicle, by issuing a predeterminedauthentication information to a user terminal of the user, thetrunk-sharing system including a server configured to: i) acquire afirst information on a permission of using the predetermined area of thevehicle from a first user who owns the vehicle; ii) provide the firstinformation such that the first information acquired from the first userof each of a plurality of vehicles is able to be detected by a seconduser other than the first user; iii) acquire a second information on arequest for a use of the predetermined area which is an information fromthe second user who has accessed the provided first information; and iv)issue an authentication information for locking and unlocking thepredetermined area to a terminal of the second user based on the firstinformation and the second information.

With this trunk-sharing system, the second user can easily acquire usepermission information for a predetermined area of a vehicle byaccessing the first information provided by the server. Thepredetermined area of a vehicle is, for example, a cargo compartment ofthe vehicle. The disclosure is not limited thereto, and thepredetermined area of a vehicle may be a passenger compartment of thevehicle. Here, the server can provide the first information bydisplaying a plurality of pieces of first information as a list on theweb site. The second user can transmit a request for use based on thefirst information displayed in a list. Such a request for use isacquired by the server.

On the other hand, in the trunk-sharing system, information onpermission of use of the predetermined area can be transmitted to andreceived from the server only when the first user has an intention topermit use of the predetermined area of the vehicle. In other words,when the first user does not have an intention to permit use of thepredetermined area of the vehicle, the server cannot acquire the firstinformation from the first user. In this case, the server does notprovide information on the first user not having an intention to permituse of the predetermined area of the vehicle. Accordingly, privacy ofthe first user is protected as much as possible.

In the trunk-sharing system, authentication information for locking andunlocking the predetermined area is issued to the terminal of the seconduser based on the first information and the second information. Then,the second user can unlock the predetermined area using the issuedauthentication information and accommodate baggage or the like in thepredetermined area. The second user can store baggage or the like in thepredetermined area by locking the predetermined area using the issuedauthentication information. Use of the predetermined area by the seconduser is temporary use and a usable period is determined in advance.Accordingly, the second user needs to take out the stored baggage or thelike in this period. The second user can take out the baggage or thelike from the predetermined area by unlocking the predetermined areaagain using the issued authentication information. A case in which apredetermined area of a vehicle is used as a locker has been describedabove, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In the trunk-sharing system, the second user who desires to use thepredetermined area of the vehicle can easily acquire use permissioninformation for the predetermined area of the vehicle, and sharing ofthe predetermined area of the vehicle is realized without impairingconvenience for the user. That is, when sharing a predetermined area ofa vehicle, it is possible to improve convenience for a user.

In the above aspect, the first information may at least include alocation of the vehicle when the use of the predetermined area ispermitted, a time at which a permission of the use starts, and a time atwhich the permission of the use ends.

According to this configuration, the second user can appropriatelyacquire the first information, and thus it is possible to improveconvenience for a user.

The server may acquire the second information through a plurality ofsteps. For example, the server may first receive a request for use ofthe predetermined area from the second user. Then, the server mayprovide the first information matching the request from a plurality ofpieces of first information acquired by the server. Then, when thesecond user transmits a request for use based on the provided firstinformation, the server can acquire the second information. Here, therequest includes, for example, a location, a start time, and an end timeat which use of the predetermined area of the vehicle is desired.Accordingly, it is possible to further improve convenience for thesecond user. The first information or the request may include the sizeof the predetermined area in addition to the above-mentionedinformation.

The trunk-sharing system may determine whether use of the predeterminedarea by the second user has ended, and may notify the second user thatthe use end time is coming close to prompt the second user to take outthe baggage or the like from the predetermined area when the use endtime is coming close but use of the predetermined area by the seconduser has not ended.

In the above aspect, the first information may include a use limitationfor limiting use in a predetermined form.

In the trunk-sharing system, the first user can limit a purpose of useof the predetermined area by the second user or a type of the baggage orthe like which may be accommodated in the predetermined area.Accordingly, the second user can appropriately acquire the firstinformation and thus it is possible to improve convenience for a user.

In the above aspect, the server may be configured to restrict unlockingof the predetermined area by a user other than the second user bypermitting only unlocking of the predetermined area using theauthentication information issued to the terminal of the second userafter the second user who uses the predetermined area has locked andunlocked the predetermined area

According to this configuration, since even the first user who is anowner of the vehicle cannot unlock the predetermined area of thevehicle, it is possible to improve security for storage of the baggageor the like.

In the above aspect, the server may be configured to notify a currentposition information of the vehicle to the second user when the vehicleincluding the predetermined area moves while the second user is usingthe predetermined area.

According to this configuration, since the second user can track thebaggage or the like stored in the predetermined area, it is possible torestrain the baggage or the like from being lost.

In the above aspect, the server may be configured to allow the seconduser and the first user to communicate with each other when the vehicleincluding the predetermined area moves while the second user is usingthe predetermined area.

According to this configuration, it is possible to restrain the baggageor the like stored in the predetermined area from being lost.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to an information processingdevice for trunk-sharing that controls an authority of a user, which isan authority for using a predetermined area of a vehicle, by issuing apredetermined authentication information to a user terminal of the user,the information processing device including: a first acquisition unitconfigured to acquire a first information on a permission of using thepredetermined area of the vehicle from a first user who owns thevehicle; a provision unit configured to provide the first informationsuch that the first information acquired from the first user of each ofa plurality of vehicles is able to be detected by a second user otherthan the first user; a second acquisition unit configured to acquire asecond information on a request for a use of the predetermined areawhich is an information from the second user who has accessed the firstinformation provided from the provision unit; and an authenticationinformation issuing unit configured to issue an authenticationinformation for locking and unlocking the predetermined area to aterminal of the second user based on the first information and thesecond information.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to an information processingmethod for trunk-sharing that controls an authority of a user, which isan authority for using a predetermined area of a vehicle, by issuing apredetermined authentication information to a user terminal of the user,the information processing method including: causing a server to acquirea first information on a permission of using the predetermined area ofthe vehicle from a first user who owns the vehicle; causing the serverto provide the first information such that the first informationacquired from the first user of each of a plurality of vehicles is ableto be detected by a second user other than the first user; causing theserver to acquire a second information on a request for a use of thepredetermined area which is an information from the second user who hasaccessed the provided first information; and causing the server to issuean authentication information for locking and unlocking thepredetermined area to a terminal of the second user based on the firstinformation and the second information.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium storing a program for controlling anauthority of a user, which is an authority for using a predeterminedarea of a vehicle, by issuing a predetermined authentication informationto a user terminal of the user, the program causing a computer toperform a control process for a trunk-sharing system, the controlprocess including: acquiring a first information on a permission ofusing the predetermined area of the vehicle from a first user who ownsthe vehicle; providing the first information such that the firstinformation acquired from the first user of each of a plurality ofvehicles is able to be detected by a second user other than the firstuser; acquiring a second information on a request for a use of thepredetermined area which is an information from the second user who hasaccessed the provided first information; and issuing an authenticationinformation for locking and unlocking the predetermined area to aterminal of the second user based on the first information and thesecond information.

The above-mentioned processes or configurations can be freely combinedunless there is technical inconsistency.

According to the disclosure, it is possible to improve convenience for auser when a cargo compartment or the like of a vehicle is shared.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of atrunk-sharing system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating hardware configurations of an onboarddevice, a first user terminal, a second user terminal, a central server,and a use management server;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the usemanagement server;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first informationtable;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second informationtable;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a use information table;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of thecentral server;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the firstuser terminal;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a first information registrationscreen;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of thesecond user terminal;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a request registration screen;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a first information list screen;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a use registration screen;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an authentication informationmanagement screen;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a flow of operations in atrunk-sharing system according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a flow of operations in atrunk-sharing system according to a second embodiment; and

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a flow of operations in atrunk-sharing system according to a third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

<System Configuration>

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of atrunk-sharing system according to a first embodiment. The trunk-sharingsystem 1 is a system that enables use of a cargo compartment (a trunk)of a vehicle 10 as a locker in which baggage or the like is temporarilystored by commonly using (sharing) the cargo compartment. In thetrunk-sharing system 1, since use permission information for the cargocompartment of the vehicle 10 from a user who owns the vehicle 10(hereinafter referred to as a first user) is provided such that theinformation can be searched by a third party, a user who desires use ofthe cargo compartment of the vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as asecond user) and who is a user other than the first user can transmit arequest for use with reference to the provided information.Trunk-sharing in this embodiment is not limited to the form of use inwhich a cargo compartment is used as a locker in which baggage or thelike is stored, and may employ a forms of use in which baggage or thelike is stored in a cargo compartment and a passenger compartment whenthe vehicle 10 has a body structure in which a cargo compartment and apassenger compartment are not partitioned from each other. Trunk-sharingin this embodiment is not limited to the form of use as a locker, andmay employ, for example, a form of use in which a passenger compartmentis used as a dressing room. Accordingly, a predetermined area of avehicle of the disclosure may be a cargo compartment of a vehicle 10 ormay be a passenger compartment thereof. When the first user does notpermit use of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10, a shared areais limited to the cargo compartment of the vehicle 10. In a vehicle 10in which a drive recorder or the like capable of imaging a passengercompartment is installed, when the passenger compartment is used as adressing room, settings of the drive recorder or the like may be changedin consideration of privacy of a second user.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the trunk-sharing system 1includes an onboard device 10A which is provided in the vehicle 10, asecond user terminal 200, a first user terminal 210, a central server400, and a use management server 410. The onboard device 10A, the seconduser terminal 200, the first user terminal 210, the central server 400,and the use management server 410 are connected to each other via anetwork N1. The onboard device 10A is connected to the second userterminal 200 or the first user terminal 210 via a network N2 including ashort-range radio communication network.

The use management server 410 receives registration of information onpermission of use of a cargo compartment (hereinafter referred to asfirst information) from the first user terminal 210. That is, the usemanagement server 410 acquires first information from the first user.The first user can register the first information, for example, using anapplication which is installed in the first user terminal 210 and whichis used for a service provided by the trunk-sharing system 1(hereinafter referred to as a predetermined application). Here, thefirst information includes a location of the vehicle 10 when use of thecargo compartment is permitted, a time at which permission of use of thecargo compartment starts, a time at which permission of use of the cargocompartment ends, and the size of the cargo compartment. The first usercan register such information using the predetermined application. Thefirst information also includes identification information of the firstuser. The identification information of the first user is correlated inadvance with the vehicle 10 which is owned by the first user in thecentral server 400 or the use management server 410. The identificationinformation of the first user is registered in advance by thepredetermined application. When the first user registers the firstinformation using the predetermined application, user authentication isfirst performed using a password or the like before the firstinformation is registered.

The first user can limit a purpose of use of the cargo compartment bythe second user or a type of baggage or the like accommodated in thecargo compartment. In this case, the first information includes uselimitations for limiting use of the cargo compartment in a predeterminedform of use in addition to the above-mentioned information.

The use management server 410 receives registration of first informationfrom a first user of each vehicle for a plurality of vehicles.Accordingly, first information of a plurality of vehicles is registeredin the use management server 410.

The use management server 410 provides the first information bypublishing a plurality of pieces of first information, which have beenregistered as described above, on the web site such that suchinformation can be searched. The use management server 410 does notprovide information of a first user who does not have an intention topermit use of a cargo compartment. Accordingly, privacy of the firstuser is protected as much as possible.

On the other hand, the second user can apply for use of the cargocompartment using the second user terminal 200 with reference to theprovided first information. At this time, the use management server 410acquires information on a request for use of the cargo compartment(hereinafter referred to as second information) from the second userterminal 200. The second user can transmit and receive the secondinformation to and from the use management server 410 using apredetermined application which is installed in the second user terminal200. When identification information of the second user is registered inadvance in the use management server 410 using the predeterminedapplication and the second user applies for use of the cargo compartmentusing the predetermined application, user authentication is firstperformed using a password or the like before the application therefor.

When the second information is acquired from the second user terminal200, the use management server 410 transmits the first informationcorrelated with the second information to the central server 400 alongwith the second information, and requests the central server 400 totransmit authentication information for locking and unlocking thevehicle 10 based on the first information to the second user terminal200.

The central server 400 transmits authentication information for thevehicle 10 correlated with the identification information of the firstuser to the second user terminal 200 based on the informationtransmitted from the use management server 410. The second user can usethe cargo compartment of the vehicle 10 by locking and unlocking thevehicle 10 using the authentication information received by the seconduser terminal 200. The authentication information may be transmittedfrom the central server 400 to the use management server 410, and may betransmitted from the use management server 410 to the second userterminal 200. Here, the authentication information is digitalinformation which is used to allow the onboard device 10A to performlocking/unlocking of the vehicle 10 by being transmitted from the seconduser terminal 200 to the onboard device 10A and being subjected to anauthentication process by the onboard device 10A. The locking/unlockingof the vehicle 10 is a process of locking/unlocking a door of the cargocompartment of the vehicle 10. When the disclosure is applied to apurpose for which a passenger compartment of the vehicle 10 is used as adressing room, the locking/unlocking of the vehicle 10 is a process oflocking/unlocking a door of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10.

<Hardware Configuration>

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating hardware configurations of the onboarddevice, the first user terminal, the second user terminal, the centralserver, and the use management server. In this embodiment, thedisclosure is applied to a vehicle 10 which is locked and unlocked via akey unit 100 disposed in the onboard device 10A. The key unit 100includes the same radio interface as an electronic key of a smart key,and can perform locking and unlocking of a vehicle 10 without using anyphysical key by communicating with an existing locking/unlocking device300 of the onboard device 10A. The key unit 100 performs short-rangeradio communication with a mobile terminal such as the second userterminal 200 or the first user terminal 210 (hereinafter referred to asthe second user terminal 200 or the like) and determines whether it mayserve as an electronic key for the vehicle 10 based on a result ofauthentication for the second user terminal 200 or the like.

Authentication information which is transmitted from the second userterminal 200 or the like to the key unit 100 is compared withauthentication information which is stored in advance in the key unit100. When the authentication has succeeded, the second user terminal 200or the like is authenticated. When the second user terminal 200 or thelike is authenticated, the key unit 100 transmits an ID of an electronickey (hereinafter referred to as a key ID) for the vehicle 10 which isstored in advance in the key unit 100 and correlated with theauthentication information to the locking/unlocking device 300 alongwith a locking/unlocking signal. The locking/unlocking device 300 locksor unlocks the vehicle 10 when the key ID received from the key unit 100coincides with a key ID which is stored in advance in thelocking/unlocking device 300. The key ID stored in advance in the keyunit 100 may be encrypted with the authentication information. In thiscase, when the authentication for the second user terminal 200 or thelike has succeeded, the key unit 100 can decrypt the key ID with theauthentication information and then transmit the decrypted key ID to thelocking/unlocking device 300.

The first user terminal 210 of the first user which is an owner of thevehicle 10 stores master authentication information which can beauthenticated by the key unit 100, and the first user can lock andunlock the vehicle 10 at any time. On the other hand, when using thecargo compartment of the vehicle 10, the second user terminal 200receives authentication information for locking and unlocking thevehicle 10 from the central server 400 or the use management server 410.The key unit 100 and the locking/unlocking device 300 operate withelectric power which is supplied from a battery mounted in the vehicle10.

The locking/unlocking device 300 is a device that locks and unlocks adoor of a vehicle 10 and is an existing device constituting a part of asmart key system. Specifically, the user of the vehicle 10 locks andunlocks the door of the vehicle 10 in accordance with a locking signaland an unlocking signal which are transmitted from an electronic key ofa smart key which is carried by the user of the vehicle 10 using radiowaves of a radio frequency (hereinafter referred to as RF) band. Thelocking/unlocking device 300 also has a function of transmitting radiowaves of a low frequency (hereinafter referred to as LF) band forsearching an electronic key which is a smart key.

In this embodiment, instead of an electronic key which is a smart keywhich is carried by the user, the key unit 100 controls locking andunlocking of the door of the vehicle 10 by transmitting and receivingradio waves of an RF band and an LF band to and from thelocking/unlocking device 300. In the following description, unlessotherwise mentioned, a communication destination of thelocking/unlocking device 300 is limited to the key unit 100.

The locking/unlocking device 300 includes an LF transmitter 301, an RFreceiver 302, a comparison ECU 303, a body ECU 304, and a door lockmotor 305. The LF transmitter 301 is means that transmits radio waves ofan LF band (for example, 100 KHz to 300 KHz) for searching (polling) thekey unit 100. The LF transmitter 301 is incorporated, for example, in acenter console or in the vicinity of a steering wheel in the passengercompartment. The RF receiver 302 is means that receives radio waves ofan RF band (for example, 100 MHz to 1 GHz) transmitted from the key unit100. The RF receiver 302 is incorporated at any position in thepassenger compartment.

The comparison ECU 303 is a computer that performs control for lockingand unlocking the door of the vehicle 10 based on a signal (a lockingsignal or an unlocking signal) transmitted from the key unit 100 usingradio waves of an RF band. The comparison ECU 303 is constituted, forexample, by a microcomputer. In the following description, the lockingsignal and the unlocking signal are collectively referred to as alocking/unlocking signal. The term, locking/unlocking signal, representsat least one of the locking signal and the unlocking signal.

The comparison ECU 303 authenticates whether the locking/unlockingsignal transmitted from the key unit 100 is transmitted from a rightfuldevice. Specifically, the comparison ECU 303 determines whether the keyID included in the locking/unlocking signal coincides with a key IDstored in advance in a storage unit of the comparison ECU 303. Then, thecomparison ECU 303 transmits an unlocking command or a locking commandto the body ECU 304 based on the authentication result. The unlockingcommand or the locking command is transmitted via an onboard networksuch as a controller area network (CAN).

The body ECU 304 is a computer that executes body control of the vehicle10. The body ECU 304 has a function of unlocking and locking the door ofthe vehicle 10 by controlling the door lock motor 305 based on theunlocking command or the locking command received from the comparisonECU 303. The door lock motor 305 is an actuator that locks and unlocksthe door of the vehicle 10 (which includes a trunk door in addition to aboarding door or a rear gate). The door lock motor 305 operates based ona signal transmitted from the body ECU 304. The comparison ECU 303 andthe body ECU 304 may be may be embodied as a single body.

The key unit 100 will be described now. The key unit 100 is a devicethat is disposed at a predetermined position (for example, inside aglove box) of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10. The key unit100 has a function of authenticating the second user terminal 200 or thelike by performing short-range radio communication with the second userterminal 200 or the like and a function of transmitting thelocking/unlocking signal using radio waves of an RF band based on theauthentication result. The key unit 100 includes an LF receiver 101, anRF transmitter 102, a short-range communication unit 103, and a controlunit 104.

The LF receiver 101 is means that receives a polling signal which istransmitted from the locking/unlocking device 300 using radio waves ofan LF band. The LF receiver 101 includes an antenna for receiving radiowaves of an LF band (hereinafter referred to as an LF antenna). The RFtransmitter 102 is means that transmits a locking/unlocking signal tothe key unit 100 using radio waves of an RF band.

The short-range communication unit 103 is means that communicates withthe second user terminal 200 or the like carried by the user. Theshort-range communication unit 103 performs communication in a shortrange (at a distance at which communication can be performed between theinterior and the exterior of the vehicle) using a predetermined radiocommunication standard.

In this embodiment, the short-range communication unit 103 performs datacommunication based on a Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energystandard (hereinafter referred to as BLE). BLE is a low-energycommunication standard using Bluetooth, and is characterized in thatcommunication can be started immediately when a communication partner isdetected without requiring pairing between devices. In this embodiment,BLE is exemplified, but other radio communication standards can also beused. For example, near field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB),and WiFi (registered trademark) may be used.

The control unit 104 is a computer that performs short-range radiocommunication with the second user terminal 200 or the like via theshort-range communication unit 103 and performs control forauthenticating the second user terminal 200 or the like and control fortransmitting a locking/unlocking signal based on the authenticationresult. The control unit 104 is constituted, for example, by amicrocomputer.

The control unit 104 includes a storage unit 1041 and an authenticationunit 1042. A control program for controlling the key unit 100 is storedin the storage unit 1041. The control unit 104 may realize variousfunctional units including the authentication unit 1042 by causing a CPU(not illustrated) to execute the control program stored in the storageunit 1041. For example, the control unit 104 realizes a function ofreceiving a polling signal transmitted as radio waves of an LF band fromthe locking/unlocking device 300 via the LF receiver 101, a function oftransmitting a locking/unlocking signal as radio waves of an RF band tothe locking/unlocking device 300 via the RF transmitter 102, a functionof processing communication with the second user terminal 200 or thelike which is performed by the short-range communication unit 103, and afunction of generating a locking/unlocking signal when authentication ofthe second user terminal 200 or the like by the authentication unit 1042has succeeded.

The authentication unit 1042 authenticates the second user terminal 200or the like based on authentication information included in a lockingrequest or an unlocking request (hereinafter collectively referred to asa locking/unlocking request) transmitted from the second user terminal200 or the like. Specifically, the authentication unit 1042 compares theauthentication information transmitted from the second user terminal 200or the like with the authentication information stored in the storageunit 1041 and determines that the authentication has succeeded when theysatisfy a predetermined relationship. When both pieces of authenticationinformation do not satisfy the predetermined relationship, theauthentication unit 1042 determines that the authentication has failed.Here, the predetermined relationship includes a case in which theauthentication information stored in the storage unit 1041 coincideswith the authentication information transmitted from the second userterminal 200 or the like, a case in which results of predeterminedprocesses such as encryption and decryption using the two pieces ofauthentication information coincide with each other, and a case in whicha result of decryption on one of the two pieces of authenticationinformation coincides with that on the other thereof. When theauthentication of the second user terminal 200 or the like by theauthentication unit 1042 has succeeded, a locking/unlocking signalgenerated in response to a request received from the second userterminal 200 or the like is transmitted to the locking/unlocking device300 via the RF transmitter 102.

The key unit 100 transmits the key ID along with the locking/unlockingsignal to the locking/unlocking device 300. The key ID may be stored inthe key unit 100 in a plaintext state in advance or may be stored in astate in which it is encrypted using a cipher specific to the seconduser terminal 200 or the like. When the key ID is stored in theencrypted state, the encrypted key ID may be decrypted using theauthentication information transmitted from the second user terminal 200or the like to acquire the original key ID.

The use management server 410 has a general configuration of a computer.The use management server 410 includes a processor 411, a main storageunit 412, an auxiliary storage unit 413, and a communication unit 414.These elements are connected to each other via a bus. The main storageunit 412 and the auxiliary storage unit 413 are computer-readablerecording mediums. The hardware configuration of the computer is notlimited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2, and omission,substitution, or addition of elements may be appropriately performed.

The use management server 410 can realize functions matching apredetermined purpose by causing the processor 411 to load a programstored in recording medium into a work area of the main storage unit 412and to execute the loaded program and controlling the constituent unitsor the like through execution of the program.

The processor 411 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or adigital signal processor (DSP). The processor 411 controls the usemanagement server 410 and performs various information processingoperations. The main storage unit 412 includes, for example, a randomaccess memory (RAM) or a read only memory (ROM). The auxiliary storageunit 413 is, for example, an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) or a harddisk drive (HDD). The auxiliary storage unit 413 can include a removablemedium, that is, a portable recording medium. The removable medium is,for example, a universal serial bus (USB) memory or a disk recordingmedium such as a compact disc (CD) or a digital versatile disc (DVD).

The auxiliary storage unit 413 stores various programs, various types ofdata, and various tables on a recording medium in a readable andwritable manner. An operating system (OS), various programs, varioustables, and the like are stored in the auxiliary storage unit 413.Information stored in the auxiliary storage unit 413 may be stored inthe main storage unit 412. Information stored in the main storage unit412 may be stored in the auxiliary storage unit 413.

The communication unit 414 communicates with another device and controlscommunication between the use management server 410 and the otherdevice. The communication unit 414 is, for example, a local area network(LAN) interface board and a radio communication circuit for radiocommunication. The LAN interface board or the radio communicationcircuit is connected to the network N1 such as the Internet which is apublic communication network.

A sequence of processes which is performed by the use management server410 may be performed by hardware or may be performed by software.

Similarly to the use management server 410, the central server 400includes a processor 401, a main storage unit 402, an auxiliary storageunit 403, and a communication unit 404. The processor 401, the mainstorage unit 402, the auxiliary storage unit 403, and the communicationunit 404 are the same as the processor 411, the main storage unit 412,the auxiliary storage unit 413, and the communication unit 414 of theuse management server 410 and thus description thereof will not berepeated.

The second user terminal 200 and the first user terminal 210 are smallcomputers such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, apersonal information terminal, or a wearable computer (such as a smartwatch). The first user terminal 210 may be a personal computer (PC) thatis connected to the use management server 410 via the network N1 such asthe Internet which is a public communication network.

The first user terminal 210 includes a processor 211, a main storageunit 212, an auxiliary storage unit 213, a display unit 214, an inputunit 215, a communication unit 216A, a communication unit 216B, and ashort-range communication unit 216C. The processor 211, the main storageunit 212, and the auxiliary storage unit 213 are the same as theprocessor 411, the main storage unit 412, and the auxiliary storage unit413 of the use management server 410 and thus description thereof willnot be repeated. The display unit 214 is, for example, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) or an electroluminescence (EL) panel. The input unit 215includes a touch panel and push buttons. The input unit 215 may includea video or image input unit such as a camera or a sound input unit suchas a microphone. The communication unit 216A is a communication circuitthat accesses the Internet, for example, via a mobile phone network witha base station as a terminal. The communication unit 216B is acommunication circuit that accesses the Internet, for example, via awireless or wired LAN and performs data communication with the usemanagement server 410. The short-range communication unit 216C is acommunication circuit that performs short-range communication inaccordance with a predetermined communication standard. Examples of thepredetermined communication standard include BLE and NFC.

Similarly to the first user terminal 210, the second user terminal 200includes a processor 201, a main storage unit 202, an auxiliary storageunit 203, a display unit 204, an input unit 205, a communication unit206A, a communication unit 206B, and a short-range communication unit206C. The processor 201, the main storage unit 202, the auxiliarystorage unit 203, the display unit 204, and the input unit 205 are thesame as the processor 211, the main storage unit 212, the auxiliarystorage unit 213, the display unit 214, and the input unit 215 of thefirst user terminal 210 and thus description thereof will not berepeated. The communication unit 206A is a communication circuit thataccesses the Internet, for example, via a mobile phone network with abase station as a terminal. The communication unit 206B is a radiocommunication circuit that accesses the Internet, for example, via awireless LAN such as WiFi. The second user terminal 200 performs datacommunication with the use management server 410 or the central server400 via the communication unit 206B. The short-range communication unit206C controls communication with the vehicle 10 in a relatively shortrange in accordance with a predetermined communication standard.Examples of the predetermined communication standard include BLE andNFC.

The network N1 may be, for example, a global public communicationnetwork such as the Internet, and a wide area network (WAN) or othercommunication networks may be employed. The network N1 may include atelephone communication network for mobile phones and the like and awireless communication network such as WiFi. The second user terminal200 and the first user terminal 210 can access the Internet via thetelephone communication network for mobile phones and the like and awireless communication network such as WiFi. The network N2 includes acommunication network for BLE via which the second user terminal 200 andthe first user terminal 210 communicate with the onboard device 10A. Thesecond user terminal 200 and the first user terminal 210 can communicatewith the onboard device 10A by BLE communication.

<Functional Configuration of Use Management Server>

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the usemanagement server. The use management server 410 includes a firstinformation acquiring unit F11, a first information providing unit F12,a second information acquiring unit F13, an information comparing unitF14, an authentication information requesting unit F15, a use statusmanaging unit F16, a first information database D11, a secondinformation database D12, and a use information database D13. Theprocessor 411 of the use management server 410 performs processes of thefirst information acquiring unit F11, the first information providingunit F12, the second information acquiring unit F13, the informationcomparing unit F14, the authentication information requesting unit F15,and the use status managing unit F16 through a computer program in themain storage unit 412. One of the functional units or some of theprocesses may be embodied by a hardware circuit.

The first information database D11, the second information database D12,and the use information database D13 are constructed by causing aprogram of a database management system (DBMS) which is executed by theprocessor 411 to manage data stored in the auxiliary storage unit 413.The first information database D11, the second information database D12,and the use information database D13 are, for example, relationaldatabases.

One of the functional units of the use management server 410 or some ofthe processes thereof may be embodied by the central server 400 oranother computer connected to the network N1.

The first information acquiring unit F11 acquires first information froma first user of each of a plurality of vehicles. As described above, thefirst information includes a location of a vehicle 10 when use of acargo compartment thereof is permitted, a time at which permission ofuse of the cargo compartment starts, a time at which permission of useof the cargo compartment ends, a size of the cargo compartment, andidentification information of the first user. The first information mayinclude use limitations on the purpose of use or the type of baggage orthe like. The first information acquiring unit F11 registers theacquired first information in the first information database D11. Thefirst information acquiring unit F11 functions as an example of theserver of the disclosure.

The first information providing unit F12 provides a plurality of piecesof first information registered in the first information database D11 toa second user who desires to use a cargo compartment. The firstinformation providing unit F12 publishes a list of first information(hereinafter also referred to as a first information list), for example,on a web site which is provided by the use management server 410 suchthat it can be searched. The second user can access the web site usingthe second user terminal 200 and refer to the first information list.The first information providing unit F12 functions as an example of theserver of the disclosure.

The second information acquiring unit F13 acquires second informationfrom the second user terminal 200. In this embodiment, the secondinformation acquiring unit F13 can acquire second information through aplurality of steps. The second information acquiring unit F13 firstreceives a request for use of a cargo compartment from the second user.The request includes, for example, a location, a start time, and an endtime in which the use of a cargo compartment is desired. The request mayinclude a purpose of use and a type of baggage or the like.

Then, the information comparing unit F14 extracts information matchingthe request from the first information registered in the firstinformation database D11. Then, the first information providing unit F12provides the first information extracted by the information comparingunit F14 to the second user. The second information acquiring unit F13acquires a request for use from the second user as second informationbased on the first information provided in this way. The secondinformation acquiring unit F13 registers the acquired second informationin the second information database D12 in correlation withidentification information of the second user. The second informationacquiring unit F13 functions as an example of the server of thedisclosure.

The authentication information requesting unit F15 requests the centralserver 400 to transmit authentication information for locking andunlocking the vehicle 10 which is owned by the first user to the seconduser terminal 200 based on the first information and the secondinformation.

The use status managing unit F16 acquires a use status of the cargocompartment from the second user. Alternatively, the use status managingunit F16 may acquire a use status of the cargo compartment from apredetermined device disposed in the vehicle 10. The use status managingunit F16 registers the use status of the cargo compartment in the useinformation database D13. Here, the use status managing unit F16 cannotify the first user of the use status of the cargo compartment. Theuse status managing unit F16 can determine whether use of the cargocompartment by the second user has ended, and notify the second userthat a use end time is coming close to prompt the second user to takethe baggage or the like from the cargo compartment when the use end timeis coming close but the use by the second user has not end.

The first information database D11 is a database in which the firstinformation is stored. The first information database D11 includes afirst information table illustrated in FIG. 4. Information which isstored in the first information table is not limited to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 4, and a field thereof can be appropriately added,changed, or deleted. The identification information of the first usersmay be managed by individual tables.

The first information table illustrated in FIG. 4 includes fields offirst user ID, contact information, vehicle number, vehicle model,color, position information, permission start time, permission end time,permitted area, and use limitations. The first user ID is an ID foridentifying a first user. The first user ID is corrected withauthentication information of the vehicle 10 in advance in the centralserver 400. The contact information is contact information of the firstuser. The contact information is, for example, a mobile phone number oran e-mail address of the first user. The vehicle number, the vehiclemodel, and the color are information which is used for a second user tospecify the vehicle 10 and are the vehicle number, the vehicle model,and the color of the vehicle 10. The first information acquiring unitF11 generates a vehicle ID for identifying the vehicle 10 based on thevehicle number of the vehicle 10. The position information is a locationof the vehicle 10, and may be an address which is registered by thefirst user or may be an address of a destination of the vehicle 10 whenthe first user moves and parks the vehicle 10 at the destination.Alternatively, the position information may be position informationwhich is calculated by a GPS device (not illustrated) disposed in theonboard device 10A by receiving signals from GPS satellites.

The permission start time is a time at which permission of use of thecargo compartment starts, and the permission end time is a time at whichpermission of use of the cargo compartment ends. The permitted area isan area of the vehicle 10 of which use by the second user is permittedand is a cargo compartment in this embodiment. The permitted areaincludes information of the size of the cargo compartment. This is onlyan example, and the permitted area may be a passenger compartment. Theuse limitations is information indicating that use in a predeterminedform of use is limited, and the first user can limit the purpose of useof the cargo compartment by the second user or the type of baggage orthe like accommodated in the cargo compartment. This is informationindicating that storage of raw food is prohibited or informationindicating that storage of valuables is prohibited as illustrated inFIG. 4.

The second information database D12 is a database in which the secondinformation is stored. The second information database D12 includes asecond information table illustrated in FIG. 5. Information which isstored in the second information table is not limited to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 5, and a field can be appropriately added, changed,or deleted. The identification information of the second users may bemanaged by individual tables.

The second information table illustrated in FIG. 5 includes fields ofsecond user ID, name, contact information, location of use, use starttime, use end time, purpose, and type. The second user ID is an ID foridentifying a second user having requested use of a cargo compartment inorder to receive a service provided by the trunk-sharing system 1. Thename is a name of the second user having requested use of the cargocompartment. The contact information is a destination of authenticationinformation and is, for example, a mobile phone number or an e-mailaddress of the second user terminal 200. The location of use is alocation in which the second user desires use of the cargo compartmentand is, for example, an address of the location in which use of thecargo compartment is desired (which may be an address including a streetnumber or a house number or may be an address including a town name).The use start time and the use end time are a start time and an end timeat which the second user desires use of the cargo compartment. Thepurpose is a purpose of use by the second user, and the cargocompartment is used as a locker in this embodiment. This is only anexample, and the passenger compartment may be used as a dressing room.The type is a type of baggage or the like which is stored.

The use information database D13 is a database in which information on ause status of a cargo compartment is stored. The use informationdatabase D13 includes a use information table illustrated in FIG. 6.Information which is stored in the use information table is not limitedto the example illustrated in FIG. 6, and a field can be appropriatelyadded, changed, or deleted.

The use information table illustrated in FIG. 6 includes fields ofvehicle ID, first user ID, second user ID, use status, positioninformation of a vehicle 10, scheduled use start time, and scheduled useend time. This information is used for the above-mentioned processeswhich are performed by the use status managing unit F16.

<Functional Configuration of Central Server>

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of thecentral server. The central server 400 includes an authenticationinformation managing unit F21, a user information database D21, and anauthentication information database D22 as functional units. Theprocessor 401 of the central server 400 performs processes of theauthentication information managing unit F21, the user informationdatabase D21, and the authentication information database D22 through acomputer program. One of the functional units or a part of the processesmay be embodied by a hardware circuit.

One of the functional units of the central server 400 or some of theprocesses thereof may be embodied by the use management server 410 oranother computer connected to the network N1.

The authentication information managing unit F21 receives anauthentication information transmission request from the use managementserver 410. The authentication information managing unit F21 receivesinformation of the second user terminal 200 which is a destination ofauthentication information, identification information of a vehicle 10which is locked or unlocked, and identification information of a firstuser correlated with the vehicle 10 along with the authenticationinformation transmission request. The authentication informationmanaging unit F21 transmits authentication information (terminalauthentication information) corresponding to the key unit 100 of thevehicle 10 which is locked or unlocked to the second user terminal 200.The authentication information may be transmitted to the use managementserver 410 and then be transmitted from the use management server 410 tothe second user terminal 200.

The user information database D21 stores identification information of afirst user and identification information of the vehicle 10 correlatedwith the first user. The authentication information database D22 storesauthentication information of the vehicle 10. The authenticationinformation of the vehicle 10 is information correlated with theidentification information of the vehicle 10 and can be set to be, forexample, information specific to the key unit 100 of the onboard device10A.

Here, the authentication information managing unit F21 can restrainauthentication information from being double issued by not issuing theauthentication information when the authentication information isalready transmitted to the second user terminal 200 and is valid.

<Functional Configuration of First User Terminal>

FIG. 8 is a functional configuration of a first user terminal. The firstuser terminal 210 includes a first information registering unit F31 anda use status notifying unit F32 as functional units. The processor 211of the first user terminal 210 performs processes of the firstinformation registering unit F31 and the use status notifying unit F32through a computer program in the main storage unit 212. One of thefunctional units or some of the processes may be performed by a hardwarecircuit.

The first information registering unit F31 receives an input of firstinformation from a first user and transmits the input information to theuse management server 410. The first user can register first informationvia a screen illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a first information registrationscreen. A first information registration screen SC1 is a screen which isused for a first user to register first information and is provided by apredetermined application for using a service of the trunk-sharingsystem 1. On the first information registration screen SC1, fields offirst user information SC11 (ID and name), vehicle number SC12, vehiclemodel SC13, color SC14, position information SC15, permission start/endtime SC16, permitted area SC17, permitted area size SC18, and uselimitations SC19 and a registration button SC20 labeled with“registration” are displayed.

The first user information SC11 (ID and name) is a field for displayinginformation of a first user. Information of the first user is registeredin advance by a predetermined application. The vehicle number SC12 is afield for inputting a vehicle number of a vehicle 10. The vehicle modelSC13 and the color SC14 are fields for selecting a vehicle model and acolor of the vehicle 10. The vehicle number, the vehicle model, and thecolor of the vehicle 10 are information which is used for a second userto specify the vehicle 10 and is transmitted to the second user terminal200 and is thus provided to the second user. The position informationSC15 is a field for inputting position information of the vehicle 10.The first user can input an address of a parking lot of the vehicle 10as position information. Alternatively, position information which iscalculated by a GPS device of the onboard device 10A by causing thefirst user terminal to communicate with the onboard device 10A may beautomatically input to the position information SC15. The informationfor specifying the vehicle 10 such as the vehicle number SC12, thevehicle model SC13, the color SC14, and the position information SC15may be registered in advance along with information of the first user.The information for specifying the vehicle 10 may be registered inadvance in the user information database D21 in correlation with theidentification information (the first user ID) of the first user in thecentral server 400. In this case, the first user can notify the seconduser of the information for specifying the vehicle 10 from the centralserver 400 by inputting the first user ID on the first informationregistration screen SC1.

The permission start/end time SC16 is a field for inputting a time atwhich permission of use of the cargo compartment starts/ends. The inputitem of SC16 may be selected by pull-down. The permitted area SC17 is afield for selecting an area of which use by the second user ispermitted. The permitted area size SC18 is a field for inputting thesize of the permitted area. The input item of SC18 may be selected bypull-down. The use limitations SC19 is a field for inputting informationindicating that use in a predetermined form of use is limited. Theregistration button SC20 is an operation button for transmittinginformation selected or input on the first information registrationscreen SC1 as first information to the use management server 410. Theuse management server 410 stores the received first information in thefirst information database D11.

The use status notifying unit F32 illustrated in FIG. 8 acquiresinformation of a use status from the use management server 410 andnotifies the first user of the acquired information. The use statusnotifying unit F32 may transmit the information of a use status by ane-mail with the first user as a destination.

<Functional Configuration of Second User Terminal>

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a seconduser terminal 200. A second user terminal 200 includes a requestregistering unit F41, a use requesting unit F42, and an authenticationprocessing unit F43 as the functional units. The processor 201 of thesecond user terminal 200 performs processes of the request registeringunit F41, the use requesting unit F42, and the authentication processingunit F43 through a computer program in the main storage unit 202. One ofthe functional units or some of the processes may be embodied by ahardware circuit.

The request registering unit F41 receives an input of a request from asecond user and transmits the input information to the use managementserver 410. The second user can register the request on a screenillustrated in FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a request registration screen. Arequest registration screen SC2 is a screen which is used for a seconduser to register a request and is provided by a predeterminedapplication for using a service from the trunk-sharing system 1. On therequest registration screen SC2, fields of second user information SC21(ID and name), desired location SC22 for use of a cargo compartment,desired start/end time SC23 for use of a cargo compartment, purpose ofuse SC24, and type of baggage or the like SC25, and a registrationbutton SC26 labeled with “registration” are displayed. The second userinformation is registered in advance by a predetermined application.Here, the second user can register a request for a location of use byinputting an address of a desired location for use of the cargocompartment (which may be an address including a street number or ahouse number or may be an address including a town name) to the locationSC22. Alternatively, current position information which is calculated bya GPS device included in the second user terminal 200 by receivingsignals from GPS satellites may be automatically input to the locationSC22. Alternatively, the second user may register a request for alocation of use by selecting a point on a map which is displayed by amap application correlated with the predetermined application.

The use requesting unit F42 displays first information, which isextracted by the information comparing unit F14 of the use managementserver 410 and provided by the first information providing unit F12, asa first information list illustrated in FIG. 12 on the second userterminal 200. The second user selects information from the firstinformation list and applies for use on a use registration screenillustrated in FIG. 13. The use requesting unit F42 transmits a requestfor use to the use management server 410 based on the information inputto the use registration screen by the second user.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a first information list screen. Afirst information list screen SC3 is provided by the predeterminedapplication. On the first information list screen SC3, fields of seconduser information SC31 (ID and name) and first information list SC32 anda use registration button SC33 labeled with “use” are displayed. Thesecond user information is registered in advance by the predeterminedapplication.

The first information list SC32 includes fields of selection, location,time, purpose, size, and limiting. The field of selection is a check boxfor selecting a thing of which use is desired by the second user. Useregistration of the checked information is performed on the useregistration screen illustrated in FIG. 13. The field of location is alocation of the vehicle 10 at which use of a cargo compartment ispermitted. Information displayed in the field of location may be anaddress of the location of the vehicle 10 or an address for linking to amap application correlated with the predetermined application. When suchan address is displayed, the second user can confirm the location of thevehicle 10 using the map displayed by the map application. The field oftime is a time in which use of a cargo compartment is permitted. Thefield of purpose is information of a purpose of use. The field of sizeis information of the size of the cargo compartment. The field oflimiting is information of use limitations. The use registration buttonSC33 is an operation button for transitioning to the use registrationscreen for performing use registration in response to the informationselected on the first information list SC32. When the use registrationbutton SC33 is pressed, the screen of the second user terminal 200transitions to the use registration screen.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a use registration screen. The useregistration screen SC5 is provided by the predetermined application. Onthe use registration screen SC5, fields of second user information SC51(ID and name), location/use period SC52, and contact information SC53and a registration button SC54 labeled with “registration” aredisplayed.

The field of location/use period SC52 is a field corresponding toinformation (location/use period) which a second user selects from thefirst information list SC32 in FIG. 12. The field of contact informationSC53 is a field for inputting contact information of the second user.The field of contact information SC53 is, for example, a mobile phonenumber or an e-mail address of the second user. The registration buttonSC54 is an operation button which is used for the second user to performuse registration. When the registration button SC54 is pressed, the userequesting unit F42 transmits information of a request for use, that is,second information, to the use management server 410. The use managementserver 410 stores the received second information in the secondinformation database D12.

When the second user uses a cargo compartment, the authenticationprocessing unit F43 receives authentication information which is usedfor authentication from the key unit 100 of the vehicle 10 which isdesignated as the location of use. The authentication processing unitF43 provides an interface for allowing the second user to performunlocking or locking of the vehicle 10 using the received authenticationinformation. The second user can perform unlocking or locking of thevehicle 10, for example, by an operation on an authentication processingscreen SC7 illustrated in FIG. 14.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an authentication processing screen.The authentication processing screen SC7 illustrated in FIG. 14 is ascreen for performing unlocking of the vehicle 10. On the authenticationprocessing screen SC7, fields of second user information SC71 (ID andname) and location/use period SC72, an unlocking button SC73 labeledwith “YES,” and a cancel button SC74 labeled with “NO” are displayed.

When the unlocking button SC73 is pressed, the short-range communicationunit 103 of the key unit 100 receives authentication information fromthe second user terminal 200. The authentication unit 1042 of the keyunit 100 performs an authentication process by comparing the receivedauthentication information with authentication information stored in thestorage unit 1041. When the authentication has succeeded, theauthentication unit 1042 of the key unit 100 transmits an unlockingsignal to the locking/unlocking device 300 along with a key IDcorrelated with the authentication information, and the vehicle 10 isunlocked when authentication of the key ID has succeeded.

<Process Flow>

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a flow of operations in thetrunk-sharing system according to this embodiment. FIG. 15 illustrates aflow of operations in elements of the trunk-sharing system 1 andprocesses which are performed by the elements. Information of a firstuser and a second user are registered in advance by the predeterminedapplication.

The first user inputs first information to the first user terminal 210to register the first information. The first information is transmittedto the use management server 410 (S10). The use management server 410registers the acquired first information in the first informationdatabase D11 (S11).

The second user inputs a request to the second user terminal 200, andthe input request is transmitted to the use management server 410 (S12).When the request is acquired (S13), the use management server 410extracts information matching the request from the first informationregistered in the first information database D11 and provides theextracted information to the second user (S14). Specifically, in theprocess of S14, a desired use time (from a desired use start time to adesired use end time) included in the request and a permitted use time(from a permitted start time to a permitted end time) included in thefirst information are compared with each other, and the firstinformation including the permitted use time is extracted as informationwhich is provided to the second user when the desired use time isincluded in the permitted use time. An address of a desired use locationincluded in the request and an address of the location of the vehicle 10included in the first information are compared with each other, and thefirst information including the address of the location is extracted asinformation which is provided to the second user, for example, when bothaddresses match each other in prefecture, municipality, and streetnumber. Even when the address of the desired use location included inthe request and the address of the location of the vehicle 10 includedin the first information do not match in street number but a distancebetween points determined by the addresses is equal to or less than apredetermined distance, the first information including the address ofthe location may be extracted as information which is provided to thesecond user. Alternatively, latitude and longitude information of thedesired use location included in the request and latitude and longitudeinformation of the location of the vehicle 10 included in the firstinformation may be compared, and the first information including thelocation information may be extracted as information which is providedto the second user when a distance between points determined by theinformation is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Theextracted information is provided as a first information list to thesecond user.

The second user transmits a request for use to the use management server410 based on the first information list transmitted to the second userterminal 200 (S15). That is, second information is transmitted to theuse management server 410 (S16). The use management server 410 registersthe acquired second information in the second information database D12(S17).

The use management server 410 transmits information such as theidentification information of the first user and the contact informationof the second user terminal 200 which is a destination of authenticationinformation to the central server 400 and requests the central server400 to transmit authentication information to the second user terminal200 (S18). When the authentication information transmission request isreceived, the central server 400 issues authentication information basedon the received identification information of the first user (S19). Thecentral server 400 transmits the issued authentication information tothe second user terminal 200 (S20).

The second user terminal 200 transmits authentication information, whichhas been transmitted to the second user terminal 200, to the onboarddevice 10A (the key unit 100) of the vehicle 10 of which the cargocompartment is used and requests the onboard device 10A for unlocking.When authentication of the second user terminal 200 using theauthentication information has succeeded, the vehicle 10 is unlocked(S21). Accordingly, the second user can use the cargo compartment. Then,when baggage or the like is accommodated in the cargo compartment, thesecond user can lock the vehicle 10 (S21).

When the second user performs an unlocking/locking operation, the usemanagement server 410 receives an unlocking/locking notification fromthe second user terminal 200 (S22). Then, the use management server 410notifies the first user terminal 210 of a use status (S23).

When the second user takes out the baggage or the like stored in thecargo compartment after the use has ended, unlocking/locking of thevehicle 10 is performed again using the second user terminal 200 (S24).Then, the use management server 410 receives a use end notification fromthe second user terminal 200 (S25). When the use end notification isreceived, the use management server 410 requests the central server 400to invalidate the authentication information transmitted in S20 (S26).Then, the central server 400 invalidates the authentication information(S27). The use management server 410 or the second user terminal 200 caninvalidate the authentication information by deleting the authenticationinformation received from the central server 400 in accordance with aninstruction from the central server 400. The central server 400 canperform exclusive control for not double issuing authenticationinformation or update the authentication information and notify theupdated authentication information to the key unit 100 by managingwhether to invalidate the authentication information. When invalidationof the authentication information is completed, a completionnotification is transmitted from the use management server 410 to thefirst user terminal 210 and the second user terminal 200 (S28 and S29).

With the above-mentioned trunk-sharing system 1, a second user caneasily acquire use permission information and sharing of a cargocompartment is realized without impairing convenience for a user. Thatis, it is possible to improve convenience for a user when a cargocompartment or the like of a vehicle 10 is shared.

<Recording Medium>

A program causing a computer or other machine or device (hereinafterreferred to as a computer or the like) to execute the above-mentionedfunctions can be recorded on a recording medium which can be read by acomputer or the like. By causing the computer or the like to read andexecute the program on the recording medium, the functions can beprovided.

Here, a recording medium which can be read by a computer or the likerefers to a non-transitory recording medium which can store informationsuch as data or programs in an electrical, magnetic, optical,mechanical, or chemical action and be read by the computer or the like.Examples of the recording medium which can be detached from the computeror the like include a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, aCD-R/W, a DVD, a Blu-ray disc, a DAT, an 8 mm tape, and a memory cardsuch as a flash memory. Examples of the recording medium which is fixedto the computer or the like include a hard disk and a read only memory(ROM). A solid state drive (SSD) can be used as a recording medium whichcan be detached from the computer or the like and can also be used as arecording medium which is fixed to the computer or the like.

Modified Example 1 of First Embodiment

In the first embodiment, when an authentication process in the key unit100 has succeeded, a vehicle 10 is unlocked by the locking/unlockingdevice 300. However, in this modified example, the locking/unlockingdevice 300 may perform the processes in the key unit 100. That is, thelocking/unlocking device 300 may include a control unit forauthenticating authentication information received from the second userterminal 200, and the control unit may transmit an unlocking command ora locking command to the body ECU 304 via an onboard network such as aCAN when authentication of the second user terminal 200 has succeeded.

With the trunk-sharing system 1 according to this modified example,sharing of a cargo compartment or the like is realized without impairingconvenience for a user with a simple configuration without installingthe key unit 100.

Modified Example 2 of First Embodiment

In the above-mentioned first embodiment, the second user terminal 200receives authentication information from the central server 400, alocking/unlocking signal is transmitted from the key unit 100 to thelocking/unlocking device 300 when the second user terminal 200 isauthenticated based on the received authentication information, and thevehicle 10 is locked and unlocked. In this modified example, theauthentication information includes information of a key ID forlocking/unlocking the vehicle 10, not information for authenticating thesecond user terminal 200.

In this case, the second user terminal 200 receives authenticationinformation including a key ID for locking/unlocking a vehicle 10 fromthe central server 400, and transmits the received key ID along with alocking/unlocking signal to the locking/unlocking device 300. Thelocking/unlocking device 300 compares the received key ID with a key IDstored in advance in the locking/unlocking device 300 and locks andunlocks the vehicle 10 when both key IDS coincide with each other. Thekey ID is transmitted and received in an encrypted state between thesecond user terminal 200 and the central server 400 or thelocking/unlocking device 300. The authentication information managingunit F21 of the central server 400 may generate a one-time key, forexample, by encrypting the key ID along with time information using apredetermined algorithm. The locking/unlocking device 300 decrypts thereceived one-time key using the same algorithm as in the central server400 and compares the decrypted one-time key with the key ID stored inadvance in the locking/unlocking device 300. The one-time key may betransmitted from the central server 400 to the use management server 410and may be transmitted from the use management server 410 to the seconduser terminal 200.

By including the one-time key generated from the key ID and the timeinformation in the authentication information, the central server 400can generate authentication information which is temporarily valid foreach request for use and transmit the generated authenticationinformation to the second user terminal 200.

Modified Example 3 of First Embodiment

In the above-mentioned first embodiment and Modified Example 2 of thefirst embodiment, the central server 400 transmits authenticationinformation for the second user terminal 200 corresponding to fixedauthentication information specific to the key unit 100 or the key IDstored in advance in the locking/unlocking device 300 of the vehicle 10to the second user terminal 200. However, authentication informationtransmitted between the second user terminal 200 and the key unit 100 isnot limited thereto. In this modified example, for example, the centralserver 400 may generate new authentication information and issue the newauthentication information to the second user terminal 200 every time arequest for use is received from the second user terminal 200. In thiscase, the central server 400 can transmit authentication information forthe key unit 100 corresponding to the new authentication information forthe second user terminal 200 to the key unit 100 via an onboardcommunication device (not illustrated) which can communicate with thenetwork N1 connected to the central server 400 and store theauthentication information therein. In this case, the key unit 100 canbe connected to the onboard communication device via the CAN or thelike. Here, the central server 400 may generate new authenticationinformation from identification information for identifying the vehicle10 and time information and transmit the new authentication informationand the time information to the second user terminal 200. In this case,the key unit 100 can generate new authentication information using thesame algorithm as in the central server 400. The second user terminal200 can transmit the new authentication information and the timeinformation to the key unit 100 and be subjected to authentication.

Second Embodiment

In the above-mentioned first embodiment, a first user terminal 210 of afirst user who is an owner of a vehicle 10 can store masterauthentication information which can be authenticated by the key unit100, and the first user can lock and unlock the vehicle 10 at any time.On the other hand, in a second embodiment, only unlocking of the vehicle10 using authentication information issued to the second user terminal200 is permitted after use of a cargo compartment by a second user hasstarted.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a flow of operations of atrunk-sharing system according to this embodiment. In the flow ofoperations and processes illustrated in FIG. 16, substantially the sameones as in the flow of operations and processes illustrated in FIG. 15will be referred to by the same reference signs and detailed descriptionthereof will not be repeated.

In the flow of operations of the trunk-sharing system illustrated inFIG. 16, when the use management server 410 receives anunlocking/locking notification from the second user terminal 200 (S22),the use management server 410 requests the central server 400 toinvalidate master authentication information stored in the first userterminal 210 (S30). Then, the central server 400 temporarily invalidatesthe master authentication information (S31). Here, the central server400 can invalidate the master authentication information bycommunicating with the first user terminal 210 and rewriting the masterauthentication information stored in the first user terminal 210.Alternatively, the central server 400 may communicate with the firstuser terminal 210 and delete the master authentication informationstored in the first user terminal 210.

When the master authentication information is temporarily invalidated inthis way, even the first user which is an owner of the vehicle 10 cannotunlock the vehicle 10 during invalidation of the master authenticationinformation. In this embodiment, the central server 400 functions as anexample of the server of the disclosure by temporarily invalidating themaster authentication information.

Then, when the use management server 410 receives a use end notificationfrom the second user terminal 200 (S25), the use management server 410requests the central server 400 to reissue master authenticationinformation (S32). Then, the central server 400 reissues the masterauthentication information (S33). Here, the central server 400 canreissue the master authentication information by communicating with thefirst user terminal 210 and restoring the master authenticationinformation rewritten (or deleted) in S31. At this time, the same masterauthentication information as the original master authenticationinformation stored in the first user terminal 210 is reissued. Thedisclosure is not limited thereto, and the central server 400 may issuenew master authentication information to the first user terminal 210 andthe key unit 100.

In the trunk-sharing system 1 according to this embodiment, sinceunlocking of the vehicle 10 by a user other than second user is limited,it is possible to improve security of storage of baggage or the like.

Third Embodiment

In the first embodiment, a vehicle 10 does not move while a second useris using a cargo compartment thereof. Here, when the vehicle 10 moveswhile the second user is using the cargo compartment, there is concernthat the second user will lose baggage or the like stored in the cargocompartment. Therefore, in a third embodiment, when the vehicle 10 moveswhile the second user is using the cargo compartment, current positioninformation of the vehicle is notified to the second user.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a flow of operations in atrunk-sharing system according to this embodiment. In the flow ofoperations and processes illustrated in FIG. 17, substantially the sameones as in the flow of operations and processes illustrated in FIG. 15will be referred to by the same reference signs and detailed descriptionthereof will not be repeated.

In the flow of operations in the trunk-sharing system illustrated inFIG. 17, the onboard device 10A detects movement of the vehicle 10(S40). The onboard device 10A can detect movement of the vehicle 10 byreceiving signals from GPS satellites via a GPS device (not illustrated)included in the onboard device 10A. Then, the onboard device 10Atransmits and receives position information, which is calculated byreceiving signals from the GPS satellites, to and from the usemanagement server 410 (S41). In this way, the use management server 410acquires position information of the vehicle 10 (S42) and notifies theacquired position information to the second user terminal 200 (S43). Inthis embodiment, the use management server 410 functions as an exampleof the server of the disclosure by notifying the position information ofthe vehicle 10 to the second user terminal 200.

With the above-mentioned trunk-sharing system 1, since a second user cantrack baggage or the like stored in a cargo compartment, it is possibleto restrain the baggage or the like from being lost.

Modified Example of Third Embodiment

In this modified example, when the vehicle 10 moves while the seconduser is using the cargo compartment, the second user can communicatewith the first user.

In this modified example, similarly to the third embodiment, movement ofa vehicle 10 is detected by the onboard device 10A. In this embodiment,the onboard device 10A notifies movement of the vehicle 10 to the usemanagement server 410. Then, the use management server 410 can enablethe second user and the first user to communicate with each other, forexample, through a communication system which is provided by thepredetermined application. This communication system may be configuredsuch that the second user and the first user can communicate with eachother by phones or may be configured such that the second user and thefirst user can communicate with each other by e-mails. Alternatively,the system may be configured such that the second user and the firstuser can communication with each other through an operator service bycausing the use management server 410 to access the operator service.

With the above-mentioned trunk-sharing system 1, it is possible torestrain baggage or the like stored in a cargo compartment from beinglost.

Other Embodiments

In the trunk-sharing system 1 according to the above-mentionedembodiments and the modified examples, when a first user does not permituse of a passenger compartment of a vehicle 10, it is assumed thatunlocking/locking control of only a cargo compartment door in lockingand unlocking of the vehicle 10 is performed, and unlocking/lockingcontrol of a passenger compartment door is not performed but ismaintained in a locked state in consideration of the security. In avehicle 10 having a body structure in which a cargo compartment and apassenger compartment are not partitioned from each other, for example,a vehicle 10 which is called one box type, since a person can access thepassenger compartment by unlocking the cargo compartment door, there isa likelihood that the first user owning the vehicle 10 will have concernabout security.

Therefore, in a vehicle 10 in which the cargo compartment and thepassenger compartment are not partitioned, the trunk-sharing system 1captures a moving image of the interior using a drive recorder or thelike which can also image the interior and determines whether a personinvades into the passenger compartment from the cargo compartment basedon the captured moving image when the cargo compartment door is open.When it is determined that a person has invaded into the passengercompartment from the cargo compartment, the trunk-sharing system 1performs storage of the captured moving image, operation of an onboardalarm, notification to a provider, notification to the first user, andthe like. On the other hand, when it is determined that a person has notinvaded into the passenger compartment, the trunk-sharing system 1 maydelete the captured moving image at a time point at which use of thecargo compartment by the second user has ended. The trunk-sharing system1 may transmit the captured moving image to the first user terminal 210regardless of whether a person has invaded into the passengercompartment as a part of a user service.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server, comprising: circuitry programmed to:acquire request information on a request for a use of a predeterminedarea, the predetermined area being owned by a first user, the first userpermitting the use of the predetermined area, and the request beingissued by a second user; issue authentication information for lockingand unlocking the predetermined area to the second user based on therequest information; and permit only unlocking of the predetermined areausing the authentication information issued to the second user after thesecond user has unlocked and locked the predetermined area.
 2. Theserver according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured toprohibit the locking and unlocking of the predetermined area by usersother than the second user after the second user locks and unlocks thepredetermined area.
 3. The server according to claim 1, wherein thecircuitry is configured to acquire information on a permission of theuse of the predetermined area from the first user, and the informationat least includes a location of the predetermined area when the use ofthe predetermined area is permitted, a time at which the permission ofthe use starts, and a time at which the permission of the use ends. 4.The sever according to claim 3, wherein the request information includesa use limitation for limiting use in a predetermined form.
 5. The serveraccording to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to notifycurrent position information of the predetermined area to the seconduser when the predetermined area moves while the second user is usingthe predetermined area.
 6. The server according to claim 1, wherein thecircuitry is configured to allow the second user and the first user tocommunicate with each other when the predetermined area moves while thesecond user is using the predetermined area.
 7. A method, comprising:acquiring request information on a request for a use of a predeterminedarea, the predetermined area being owned by a first user, the first userpermitting the use of the predetermined area, and the request beingissued by a second user; issuing authentication information for lockingand unlocking the predetermined area to the second user based on therequest information; and permitting only unlocking of the predeterminedarea using the authentication information issued to the second userafter the second user has unlocked and locked the predetermined area. 8.The method according to claim 7, further comprising prohibiting thelocking and unlocking of the predetermined area by users other than thesecond user after the second user locks and unlocks the predeterminedarea.
 9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising acquiringinformation on a permission of the use of the predetermined area fromthe first user, wherein the information at least includes a location ofthe predetermined area when the use of the predetermined area ispermitted, a time at which the permission of the use starts, and a timeat which the permission of the use ends.
 10. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the request information includes a use limitation forlimiting use in a predetermined form.
 11. The method according to claim7, further comprising notifying current position information of thepredetermined area to the second user when the predetermined area moveswhile the second user is using the predetermined area.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 7, further comprising allowing the second user andthe first user to communicate with each other when the predeterminedarea moves while the second user is using the predetermined area.
 13. Avehicle comprising: circuitry programmed to: acquire request informationon a request for a use of a predetermined area in the vehicle, thepredetermined area being owned by a first user, the first userpermitting the use of the predetermined area, and the request beingissued by a second user; issue authentication information for lockingand unlocking the predetermined area to the second user based on therequest information; and permit only unlocking of the predetermined areausing the authentication information issued to the second user after thesecond user has unlocked and locked the predetermined area.
 14. Thevehicle according to claim 13, wherein the circuitry is configured toprohibit the locking and unlocking of the predetermined area by usersother than the second user after the second user locks and unlocks thepredetermined area.
 15. The vehicle according to claim 13, wherein thecircuitry is configured to acquire information on a permission of theuse of the predetermined area from the first user, and the informationat least includes a location of the vehicle when the use of thepredetermined area is permitted, a time at which the permission of theuse starts, and a time at which the permission of the use ends.
 16. Thevehicle according to claim 15, wherein the request information includesa use limitation for limiting use in a predetermined form.
 17. Thevehicle according to claim 13, wherein the circuitry is configured tonotify current position information of the vehicle to the second userwhen the vehicle moves while the second user is using the predeterminedarea.
 18. The vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the circuitry isconfigured to allow the second user and the first user to communicatewith each other when the vehicle moves while the second user is usingthe predetermined area.